So the BBC says it has discovered documents that show Grenfell Tower’s proposed cladding was changed from Zinc to aluminium…the BBC are sensationalising this and hyping the suggestion that this caused the fire disaster at the tower because the aluminium cladding was less fire retardant than the zinc…or was it?
The BBC have given us three different versions of just how fire retardant the two claddings were…one is that the zinc cladding was more fire retardant…two, that they were in fact the same…and three no comment other than to say zinc was replaced by aluminium.
Documents show the zinc cladding originally proposed was replaced with an aluminium type, which was less fire resistant, saving nearly £300,000.
The cladding is thought to have contributed to the spread of the fire that killed at least 80 people.
Oh but hang on…..
Despite their differences, both types of cladding have the same official fire rating.
How can one be less fire resistant and yet have the same fire rating? Anyone who was going to use the panels would go by the fire rating….so they would judge there was no extra fire risk changing to aluminium…so there’s in fact no story here of ‘guilt’.
The zinc panels, if they come from the same people who make the aluminium panels, apparently ‘Reynobond’, would have a fire resistant core…
ZCM Only Available with FR Core The melting point for the titanium zinc alloy used in ZCM is 418 C (784 F). Therefore, ACM [sic…ZCM?] is only available with our “FR” fire-resistant core. This is necessary in order to pass ASTM E84 Steiner Tunnel Tests for flame spread and smoke generated. With the extra security of the FR Core, ZCM passes most common building code requirements.
What the BBC are insinuating is that the change was a piece of reckless money saving that was implemented regardless of risk…and yet that is pure supposition as they do not know the decision process nor how those who made the decision understood the fire standards….as the BBC admits the two panels have the same fire rating….how would someone making that decision know any different?
The BBC tells us, as it has for days, that the cladding has failed the recent government tests…
Police investigating the disaster have said the tower’s cladding has subsequently failed safety tests.
….but doesn’t tell us that the tests are more stringent than the ones that were necessary to pass building regulations…..which presumably the cladding did originally pass.
The BBC are being extremely irresponsible in hyping and sensationalising this story in the way it does knowing full well that its nuances, such as the fire ratings, will pass most people by, certainly those with an axe to grind, and that in such an emotive and angry atmosphere this could lead to that anger being exploited by the various hard-left groups hijacking this issue working to start riots and disturbances.
Why does the BBC speculate on these issues, when all the information is not yet available? Why do they not wait for the outcome of the official inquiry, which will be in a much better position to make a judgement?
It is behaving in an arrogant, irresponsible and, by potentially prejudicing the findings of the official inquiry, arguably unconstitutional manner.
Crap incompetent, amateurish unscrupulous dishonourable journalism might have a lot to do with it !
Freedom of speech eh? Except when it does not support al beeb editorial views. As soon as there is the glimmer of chance that the socialists will get power again and shake the money tree albeeb propaganda becomes even more intense .
Unthinking public opinion is being groomed to believe any thing that goes wrong is conservative and anything ‘good’ is corbyn socialism .
Winston Churchill:
“Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.”
Basically, DM, the bBBC are behaving in exactly the same way that the bBBC always behaves when it sees an opportunity to stir up anti-Tory hysteria.
“ZCM Only Available with FR Core The melting point for the titanium zinc alloy used in ZCM is 418 C (784 F). Therefore, ACM [sic…ZCM?] is only available with our “FR” fire-resistant core. This is necessary in order to pass ASTM E84 Steiner Tunnel Tests for flame spread and smoke generated. With the extra security of the FR Core, ZCM passes most common building code requirements.”
The point that Alan hasn’t quite nailed here is that the melting point of the zinc alloy is 418 C while aluminium melts at 660 C, i.e. 242 C higher. Because of this the manufacturer needed to use a different core material to that used with the aluminium panels in order to pass the ASTM test that, presumably, the aluminium panel passed.
Disasters of the Grenfell Tower type are rare and that is because they invariably need many rare events to ‘line up’. The BBC snatching at every little item serves no purpose, except to cause upset, which is why they do it. After all one doesn’t win prizes for reporting “No riots today”.
Perhaps the autocue reader at the bbc could get of his/her arse and ring up the experts at the Building Research Establishment and get the facts before they offer (offer?) their opinions. Better still, go out there and look for themselves, it’s not rocket science! You ring to make an appointment, get on a train, see the people who actually know what they’re talking about, then come back and write a report.
That’s if you’re anyone but a bbc autocue reader.
I’ve never ever heard any bbc journo understand the complexities of building construction. Like so-called climate change, they just rely on innuendo and hope that their gullible tax-payers sucking up some gory death in a tower block will believe them.
What a crap service we have to put up with.